NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) dam systems were put to the test during Helene.
Following the severe weather , teams have worked to see which dams are safe and which dams may need repair.
After historic rainfall in the mountains of East Tennessee and western North Carolina, the TVA has worked to manage record amounts of water that flow into the Douglas Dam. TVA spokesperson Scott Fiedler told News 2 that water has been held back to protect areas like Knoxville, Lenoir City and even Chattanooga.
Why Helene was so devastating for East Tennessee
“I would call it biblical amount of water in East Tennessee,” Fiedler said. “The key headline is ‘Douglas saves Knoxville!’ because all of that water has to go somewhere and old man Douglas is holding it back.”
The update came after officials issued a condition red alert on Friday, which meant that a breach of the Nolichucky dam was imminent. After another review by the TVA’s dam safety team, they confirmed it was stable and secure Saturday morning.